While some may not like it, the current short term pain will hopefully be worth the long term gain of a City future in the top-tier

Aside from the fact that it depicted Norwich winning a Wembley final, the film Mike Bassett:England Manager is perhaps most well known for the eponymous heroes reaction to all too familiar failings in his England side.

With Bassett feeling the inevitable pressure from all sides as his reign as England boss descends into farce, he grimly offers, by way of response, the vow, “Ladies and Gentlemen, England will be playing four-four-f*****g-two” -a damning indictment on not only his own coaching and tactical shortcomings but on a system that, even over a decade ago, was already seen as being past its sell-by date.

This system does, of course, have a ‘history’ as far as English football is concerned. England’s 1966 World Cup win owed much to Sir Alf Ramsay’s rejection of the popular 4-2-4 system in favour of strengthening his midfield by withdrawing the traditional winger from his team in favour of wide midfielders, thus earning his team and the formation he chose the sobriquet “wingless wonders”. That 4-4-2 system-and all variants of it since-has rarely employed a winger in the traditional sense (ie) the touchline hugging and fleet of foot maverick whose sole job was to get the ball and run at the opposing full back, his intent being to reach the touchline before delivering a cross for two central strikers to feed off.

That 4-2-4 system was compelling stuff. The wingers of old rarely needed to worry about chasing back and supporting their back four else marking someone at a set piece. They were the 007’s of the football world, free of the muddy quagmire of mid-pitch to dash the white lines and wreak havoc, the inkling that something might be about to happen spreading its way through the crowd whenever one of them got the ball, dropped a shoulder and set off on a run. Think Darren Huckerby in full flight, one of an ever rarer breed.

They haven’t all gone and the romance of the touchline hugging winger will never be forgotten. They are, however, now seen as an indulgence rather than a necessity, a gamble amidst the discipline and tactical rigidity that marks out the modern game where the priority now seems to be enter the field of play with a common intent of not losing rather than winning. It’s a subtle difference but a very real one.

Thus, when avoiding defeat is the overriding issue and you are taking nothing to chance – the last thing any football Manager is going to do is play a couple of orthodox wingers. And, with Premier League survival the absolute, overwhelming and critical goal for Norwich City this season, it is why we are unlikely to see our own wide players given the leeway to adopt that role by Chris Hughton – the risk involved is simply too great.

Much has been said about Hughton’s preference for the 4-2-3-1 line-up this season. It is perceived as being negative, a system that packs the midfield at the expense of leaving just one man leading the line in attack. It is a thankless task that Grant Holt has carried out with no little valour and effort this season – but with little tangible reward as far as goals scored is concerned. As a result, both he and the Manager have been the brunt of much criticism, with many of Chris Hughton’s loudest critics those that are simultaneously lamenting for the return of Paul Lambert’s more attack-minded footballing philosophy, including the adventurous diamond formation that he often employed last season.

As a consequence of this, there is increasing demand for Chris Hughton to abandon his devotion to the 4-5-1 system and play, as Mike Bassett would say, “f*****g 4-4-2” –with added winger. This would mean allowing Elliott Bennett and Anthony Pilkington the freedom of the touchlines, permission given to stray no further back than the halfway line and to be a willing and ever present outlet for the ball, ready to surge forward, their mission loud and clear: get the ball across and into the penalty area for the predating strikers – likely Messrs.Holt and Becchio to feed from. However, as Ramsay and England demonstrated in 1966, a ‘true’ 4-4-2 system doesn’t allow for the traditional winger. In other words, the call is for Norwich to revert to 4-2-4.

Entertaining? Yes. Creating chances? Yes. Exciting? Hell yes. Anyone who remembers a Crossan, Neighbour, Gordon, Eadie or Huckerby doing just that in Canary days of yore will certainly vouch for that. But practical?

Football has always been in love with the winger. Formations during the early years of the game for example seemed almost suicidal in comparison to today’s game, the default line up of most teams being a 2-3-5 formation, featuring three central strikers with wingers on each side. It was introduced into the game as means of providing some sort of balance between attacking and defending. So, for example, when a side was defending, the two (!) defenders would take care of the oppositions wingers whilst the three players in midfield would counter the oppositions three forwards. Simple yes – but, when it worked, staggeringly effective.

Norwich’s record win, a 10-2 romp against Coventry in 1930 saw four of the five man frontline selected for that match get all of the goals between them with, tellingly, the man in the centre of the quintet, Thomas Hunt scoring five. When it worked-it worked very well as that result shows. However, when it didn’t work, you tended to get overran-which is exactly what happened to Coventry that afternoon, lining up with exactly the same system themselves. It was reckless, entertaining and sometimes spectacular-but it was never going to last.

Hence the tactical revision to 4-2-4 which, in itself, evolved towards 4-4-2 and, in today’s game, the preference for 4-2-3-1-from five players in attack, to four, to two and now to one. Footballing evolution?

Because football has evolved and, rightly or wrongly, Norwich City has to evolve with it. Because the lesser species that refuse to do so will fall by the wayside – which is exactly what happened to the Dodo. And, in a flash of footballing joie de vivre just two years ago, the swash buckling Blackpool side, bravely – but ultimately foolhardily – led to their Premier League extinction after a year spent trying to buck the trend. And, for all the praise they got, the accolades, the popularity of their game throughout that 2010/11 season, would they swap places with Norwich City now – dour in play and tactics, a perceived antithesis to their flair and opportunism?

You bet they would.

And would we swap our own position in the Premier League now with theirs in the Championship if it meant we had a legacy of being a side that at least went out and entertained, scored goals and strove to win matches and admirers, all too often at the expense of a point? A few might I guess. But I don’t think it would be that many.

‘Win at all costs’ has been replaced as a footballing maxim by the new creed which declares ‘Whatever the cost, don’t lose’. Subtle but telling. And symbolised by those ever changing formations and, with it, the roles of those magnificent men in the shirts that were once numbered seven and eleven. When football was fresh, new and naive they were forwards in their own right, two speedy members of an attacking pack of five. As time progressed, they have found themselves travelling further and further back on the field of play, from outright attackers to wingers to what they are now, ‘merely’ wide midfielders – the occasional darting run and mesmerising cross part of their wider picture rather than their basic remit.

Football seems to have invented itself as a sporting means of entertainment – but with added caution that has seeped into its ranks especially in the last decade or so when survival in the Premier League is paramount, and, for clubs such as ourselves, a finishing place of 17th or higher considered successful. Should Norwich stay up this season it will be considered as one of the most remarkable achievements in the clubs history.

The rewards are obvious and tantalising with the domestic TV deal from next season estimated to be worth a minimum of £3 Billion – with Norwich’s percentage from that diamond encrusted pot being more than enough to guarantee healthy financial security for a considerable period of time – something which is as crucial to us as it is in all of the clubs in the Premier League aside from the top six.

And with around fourteen or so clubs all as desperate as one another to be part of the unprecedented riches available next season, who can wonder at the methods being taken to ensure that is the case. Take QPR who have thrown money at the problem – a clear example of speculating to accumulate, their January investment in Christopher Samba alone costing them £12.5 Million as well as his wages, reported to be £100’000 a week over four and a half years. Do the maths if you like – but clearly a total figure that Norwich will never be able to match – or, as importantly, would ever contemplate coming even close to matching.

However, if Samba plays a big part in ‘arry and Co staying put in the land of milk and honey this season – then it’s money well spent, rash as it may seem now. Likewise Southampton, a club who saw fit to dispense with the services of the much respected Nigel Adkins in order to bring in Mauricio Pochettino – a case of their board trusting him more with their future and finances than they might have Adkins. The decision was seen as madness on a scale with QPR’s investment in Samba at first-but if Saints stay up will it be worth it, will it have been justified?

Desperate times, desperate measures – and, again, underlining the importance to clubs of staying in the Premier League, no matter what the cost is, either financially or in terms of their reputations and sanity within the game – the questioning of which will matter not one jot in the respective boardrooms at Loftus Road and St Mary’s if both clubs are still part of the elite come August.

So what do we do at Norwich in order to best preserve our status as a Premier League club? Throw money at the situation a’la QPR? Throw caution to the wind and attack-attack-attack? No. There was money available in January to spend, we were all made aware of that. The problem is no-one wanted it, at least not the amount we had and were prepared to spend.

What about taking the Southampton route and sacking our Manager in order to get someone in from the continent? Of course not – such a move would have been seen as even more ridiculous than theirs to remove Adkins from his position – plus who would have wanted to come here under those circumstances – and what could they have added that Chris Hughton hasn’t already got? With both of those options rightly ruled out, there was only one realistic option for the club to adopt in order to beat the drop, that rather revolutionary one that involved doing it by playing football.

Hence footballing coats are being cut according to the cloth that we have. With relatively limited resources and an enormous debt to be repaid in May, the importance of our staying in this league is beyond critical, whilst the possible consequences of dropping out of it (if you think the ‘parachute money’ guarantees a quick return, ask Bolton, Blackpool, Hull, Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Wolves and Birmingham – for starters – if they felt that way as well?) are unthinkable-from both a footballing and financial perspective. We therefore have to do whatever we can with the resources that we have in order to survive in the traditional manner – by getting as many points on the board as possible.

Hence the type of football now being played. Plus the reluctance of the Manager to give his wide players carte blanche to escape their tactical responsibilities and play with abandon as traditional wingers-exciting? Yes. Sensible? Probably not. And, above all else, the solid emphasis on creating a team that is difficult to beat and difficult to score against.

It hasn’t been easy and sometimes the spectating that has gone with it hasn’t been easy either. But if it means that we live to fight another day of Premier League football next season then it will have been worth it. The clear intent of the Manager and club this Summer will be to bring in players of a higher quality than some of those we already have-as has been shown with the acquisitions already made this season-meaning that the type of football the club plays and what we pay to watch-might just be a similar upgrade to our newly acquired financial status.

Short time footballing pain this season for long term footballing gain in the seasons to come? I’ll take that.

Nice analysis. As you point out, the 4-4-2 is dead is not the answer. Chris Hughton is also the right man for the job without doubt. He may err in the side of caution, but that approach looks to be keeping in in the Premier League for another season.

I have read a lot of articles over the last few days asking City fans to be realistic, and accept that the football on offer at the moment is necessarily defensive given what we have to lose as a club. We should grin and bear it, and realise that Premiership survival is key to the club’s future, putting our trust in Chris Hughton to get us over the finishing line.

Personally, I have nothing much against Hughton, but started to consider if being in the Premiership is all it is cracked up to be. It seems to have emasculated us. We looked so scared of losing against QPR and Fulham, that our very essence as a club seemed in danger of being snuffed out. I know we have been through some dark days in the last few years, but it seems that the best we can ever hope for is a season long battle against relegation in the Premiership. Every game is a struggle; every point is fought for in a way that can only nullify any creativity the players might have. In short, we are painful to watch at the moment. I’m not sure that deep down the majority of the supporters are enjoying it much at all.

Yes, we have had a couple of great wins against Arsenal and Man Utd, but in most games we struggle to create chances and our strikers have long since lost touch with their carefully crafted goal celebrations.

I am always proud to be known recognised as a Norwich City fan. It is a real football club with a nucleus of supporters from around the region, who will follow the club through thick and thin. It has been painful at times, but it has always paid dividends for the chance to say that I was there as a seven year old at Watford in 72, at Wembley for the third time of asking in 85, and that magical night in Munich in 93.

Like all supporters I was delighted when we got promoted back to the Premiership in 2011, but for some reason this season has failed to ignite any real excitement in me. I have begun to wonder if this continuous struggle, that we are told is the best we can ever hope for, is actually worth it.

My head hurts with all sorts (Bassett’s?!) of different formations, most of which should be consigned to the dusty bin (3-2-1..) of history. Whatever it is, we’ve got to be tough to beat (which we are, unless you are Liverpool) but always able to knick a winner (which we did earlier in the season i.e. Arsenal/Man. Utd/Stoke) or an equaliser (Everton/Villa/S’ton). But for injuries to key men (Holt/Ruddy/Bassong) at key times, I think we would be pushing 40 points by now and there would be no dissent among the ranks.
Dare I mention..Stoke? God knows they can be grim to watch but Pulis has kept them in the top half of the PL mainly through heart and muscle – at least they seem to have ditched the ‘Cupid-like’ long and arrowed approach as an extra man option. Bolton under Allardyce were just as indigestible but effective in the PL for many years. Ideally we want to stay up and be playing great football – Swansea has done it but essentially only by filling the team up with Spanish players. We went to the Liberty stadium and mullered them in the first half – why can’t we stick to whatever game plan we had there?
Best wingers to have trod the line for City? Has to be Gordon, Fox and Huckerby. They all had a box of tricks and a sweet delivery. I would love to see the return of the out-and-out winger.

Re: Andy Watson: I know what you mean, wondering what we might aspire to, and whether the Premier League is all it’s cracked up to be.. But surely the height of ambition for any medium sized club is to survive in the Premier League, with occasional thrilling games against top 6 sides and – dare I say it – the occasional cup run with a possible happy ending. The alternative – relegation to the more exciting Championship – means what? Fighting for promotion to a league we don’t want to be in? Not fighting for promotion? So for me it comes full circle; we battle to get as high up the league as we can, because that’s the whole point of sport. Entertainment along the way is a bonus.

It’s always darkest just before dawn – I’m having a great deal of sympathy with Andy’s view above. I was at Watford, Wembley (all 3) and Munich too and we will remember the joyous moments rather than the excruciating pain of watching Fulham scrap for their very lives by being compact, contained and wary of making the slightest mistake against us. The scary part is that after all the years they have managed to survive in the Premier League, and even with the accumulated skill and experience of their massively expensive players (compared to us)their sole ambition this season is to stay up – whatever it takes. I always used to mock them for the pathetically small support they take to away games, but if every game they watch is like that who can blame people for not going. After Saturday, and other results since, it’s getting very dark…
…but we beat ManU, and the Arse and gave a really good fight against the Blue Mancs – can you see that small glimmer just on the horizon?

Re: Andy Watson – would you rather we played the likes of Barnsley and Peterborough week in week out just to see some ‘crafted’ goal celebrations? We can only aspire to play in the top league of our own country. The PL is way off those in Spain, Germany and Italy but it’s the only one we have! Could be worse – you could be a QPR fan!

The point I was trying to make was a bigger one; is Premiership survival all we can aspire to? This quest for the Holy Grail has left us impotent, our concern with not losing has left us forgetting about what made us a great club in the first place. We are going to have to spend more and more money just to stand still, and ultimately that may not even be enough to ensure our status.
Can you really say that the fans are enjoying what is happening at the moment? I suppose what will really get to me is that if we do go down (and I think that is a distinct possibility) then we won’t have gone down fighting, but just succumbed to a football philosophy based on fear not pride.

Andy – I like to dream as much as you clearly do but I think it’s just as well neither of us is charged with running the club or team! This perceived notion of some ‘golden era’ of yore that you hark back to is nostalgic delusion. These were times when the technical standard in the top flight in this country was way below that of today and when we often struggled to get 15k in the ground.
Of course we all want to see us hold our own whilst playing expansive football and scoring a hat full of goals, but realistically this will only happen if a billionaire foreign owner comes in, employs an expensive foreign coach who then fills the squad with skilled continental players (sound familiar?) – is that what you want for City?
The only teams of our ‘status/level’ who have had a sustained period in the PL are Bolton and Stoke – not exactly famed for their exciting, dynamic football. Ask a Blackpool fan if it was worth playing great, crowd-pleasing stuff for one top flight season only to be languishing in the bottom half of the Championship now – Portsmouth is a whole different can of worms, as I predict QPR to be imminently. Ambition is vital but ‘let off the leash’ it can be fatal.
If we do (God forbid) go down, I don’t think anyone can claim it was without a fight!

Whilst I accept that 4-4-2 didn’t work and generally led to us getting beaten, its also clear from the last 9 PL games (LLLLDLDDD)that 4-2-3-1 is not working and will not get us the wins we need. So suggesting that “whatever the cost, don’t lose” will keep us up is a complete fallacy!!

Being defensive with 6 players is fine, but being defensive with 10 is not. If you accept that a “Back 6” is keeping us tighter and is enough to ensure we “don’t lose”, then use the other 4 in a more attacking way. United played a “Back 6” last night against Madrid, but they also played 3 “out & out” attackers in RVP, Rooney & Wellbeck! So come on Hoots, keep your “Back 6” but lets see Snoddy pushed up as part of a front 3 (left sided please) with Kamara (right) & Holt or Becchio central & with Wes just behind pulling the strings. 4-2-1-3 for me please!

There’s no magic formula for how we should line up. PL recognised this and adjusted according to the opposition, the players available, who was on top form, who needed a rest, and, importantly, what was happening within games and how to deploy subs.

What is clear is that far too much has been asked of Wes and Holty this season, and, Chris, your 4-2-1-3 would still over work Wes or whoever filled that role.

As for the observation that ManU used 6 at the back – well, they were playing against Real Madrid and Ronaldo, not Fulham or QPR or any of the teams outside the top 6. It may sometimes be wise to use 2 defensive midfielders, but not all the time.
Much more flexibility in how we line-up and how we play is required – and that will be best achieved by using players with more attributes than muscle and athleticism.

And Russell, it is not meaningful to talk of clubs of our status. Our status is what we make of it, not where we’ve come from. In the past big clubs were typically big city with big attendances but Sky money makes that less relevant today.

Our status is as a PL club , well run, well supported, good facilities – but playing dross. My qualifier to that is whether there is an adequate and informed management structure to guide / check on the decisions and performance of the football manager and coaches.

Status is transient – it comes and goes. Huddersfield won the league three in a row in the 1930s. When I was a lad, Norwich you may recall were 3rd Div (S) with others like QPR and Reading.
Leeds and Liverpool were Div 2. In more recent times, our feeder club reached EuroCup final in 70s and the semi in the Ridsdale years.

Because of our humble origins and our recent fall and rise there is no need to consider us as strugglers who must play shit football to try to draw games and crawl towards the 40 points.
We can and must do better.

And for what it’s worth in this debate, I can’t see us winning another game this season and I doubt that there will be enough draws to survive – all will depend on how other strugglers perform. Sad.

Maybe you’re right and I am a Luddite, hankering after a time when football was less corrupted by the riches on offer. Actually I am not arguing for a particularly different style of play, I was trying to make a broader point as to whether this is the best we can hope for given the nature of English football today?

Tony Pulis has achieved a lot at Stoke, but I’m not sure that Norwich supporters are that willing to give up the footballing philosophy of the club, which has remained fairly constant ever since John Bond took over nearly forty years ago.

Is there not a real danger that the current strategy being pursued by the club could lead to a fatal disconnection with the fans, surely still the club’s most important stakeholders?

Andy – you’re not a Luddite, but understandably you are beginning to sound a bit defeatist. Trouble is, how do fans make their point and contribute constructively to the direction the club is going? Booing is too open to misunderstanding – it’s not the players’ fault we’re where we are. IMO it’s the manager but as I said above, what checks and balances are there on what he is doing?
Staying away is another ( masochistic ) option but only works if enough are prepared to do it, and really it’s a last resort when things are really desperate.

You are right – NCFC and fans should not settle for dross and Pulis punting. We should compete. Sport at this level is about winning, not grinding out goal-less draws. There’s money up for grabs – that’s how it is, until Sky pulls the plug – and it will, if we stay up, put the club on a sound footing and allow more “help” to be brought in. Even if there wasn’t squillions, the squad would still have to evolve and improve – as at any level of the game.

I agree there is increasing fan dissatisfaction – little wonder. And I share your view, rather than Russell’s, about contemplating going down without a fight. And I’m not accusing the players – some of whom I could understand if their heart wasn’t fully in it in what they are being asked to do.

Disconnect is a risk – 15k gates again in 2 or 3 years? And if Sky money goes, what then . . .
And I have a confession : I’ve asked not to renew my Season ticket. I am disconnected – time is too precious to sit back and be bored and disappointed. My wife thinks I’m mad (so does part of me!) because if there is a strategic change of direction at the end of the season (change of manager) I’ll be at the back of the 1,499 queue for a new one. Perhaps I should reconsider at full time in the Everton game, although as things are, that’s likely to be a defeat.

This is a cracking discussion!
Andy – I appreciate the ‘Stoke model’ is contentious but if you can give me a single example of a club outside the top 6 super-rich, who have maintained PL status for year after year by playing expansive, attacking football, please let me know! If anything, Stoke have been a bit more gung-ho this season and been on the end of some whippings as a result. For me, it’s all about building solid foundations for 2-3 years (using whatever formation does that job) and then developing a more ‘progressive’ style.
I still get the impression that you would have us in the lower leagues spanking inferior teams in front of one man and his dog rather than battling in the top tier. I would argue that we are as competitive a City team in as tough a PL as there has ever been. We may have finished higher up in the olden days, but the technical standards and pressures back then were much less. I personally would feel disconnected if we went down the foreign owner-manager-player route in the rush for ‘fancy footballing’ short-term glory.
Adrian – by ‘status’, I meant comparable fan base and available funding. Anyone would think we are rock bottom of the division with your gloomy outlook. We’ve still got Villa, Reading and S’ton to come at home – if we can’t get 6-7 points from them, then we don’t deserve to stay up. If we had taken one chance against Fulham and got the 3 points, would there been half of the whining going on? Becchio needs 3-4 games to settle in at this level, but he is a natural goal poacher and will come up with the goods – keep the faith!

We have a style over substance argument of sorts. Is what we are currently experiencing, watching as Canary fans better than the actual truth-or, in this case, is worth experiencing in order that we may continue to realise our footballing truth, that is, a long term and settled member of the Premier League? Substance over style in other words.

As things stand, we are one of around the unlucky thirteen Premier League Premier League teams that are hell bent on doing whatever it takes to stay in the division. Some will have higher aspirations than others admittedly-but, of the current crop, I’d say the only seven that will never really have to worry about relegation come May each year are the two Manchester’s, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton.

We are all throwing as much money as we possibly can in order to stand still-whilst around another twenty or so clubs in the Championship and League One (Sheffield United in particular) will be throwing as much money as they can in order to reach the Premier League so that, when they drag themselves over the line and realise that they will pretty much now have to gut the club from top to bottom as a condition of membership (our Summer spending commitments in 2004 and 2011 were substantial-and that’s on infrastructure alone) before they then, see where we’re going here, throw as much money as they probably *can’t* (QPR?) in order to stand still like the rest of us.

We’re all doing it yet three still have to go down this season and, whoever they are, good luck because, as Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves have shown this time around and others before them, it’s one hell of a hit when you do go-and some, going back a few years (eg) Barnsley, Charlton, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday and Wimbledon, never return-whilst the financial fates of Leeds, Ipswich, Forest and Portsmouth are far more well documented.

It seems as a club you are f****d if you stay put-because the longer you hang on in there, the harder the hit-as Bolton are currently finding, you’re f****d if you get up there in the first place (QPR) and you’re most certainly f****d if you get there and go down again (numerous!).

It’s a weird example of sado-masochism, the Premier League.

You want it badly but it only causes pain, disagreement and upset if you get there. Yet you don’t want to be without it-sometimes you yearn for the simpler times, others you would rather be nowhere else.

In the meantime, the actual GAME of football and football for the sake of it, for the simplicity and love of the game and going to one, is slipping, unnoticed, out of the door-because clubs and supporters are too worried about so many other aspects of the game to notice.

Ed, you’re right – it is a madhouse- but you don’t have to be mad or go mad to be in it, or worry yourself silly about keeping up with self-destructing nutters. You need to proceed with professionally managed financial prudence : sensible wage levels even if that rules out attracting so called superstar players and flashy mercenaries ; contracts that adjust wages if relegation does occur ; not getting into bidding wars for average or unproven players, and, paradoxically, not bidding silly sums for players that nobody else seems bothered about but whose agent and club are greedily holding out for more, eg strikers from the SPL.

Being in the EPL is like life itself, no-one said it would be easy or fair, but that’s no reason not to enjoy the experience.

If there’s a flaw in your thesis it is including Everton along with the other top six. (One could argue about Spurs being included too.) Everton are skint and have been for years, and Goodison only holds 36,000. They can’t afford a new bigger stadium and were trying unsuccessfully to go down the sugar daddy route for years. Yet they seem to have persuaded you that they are PL fixtures.

How have they done it? Sound financial management and a top class manager, and staying true to their ideals of playing quality football – their fans wouldn’t have it any other way even if they do yearn for the double champions days of the sixties and eighties. EFC will be looking over the shoulder all the time too, but they don’t let it show and they don’t let it inhibit them. They are the model to follow.

Russell – I put my hands up for being gloomy. I was during the unbeaten run where the danger signs were all too evident : hanging on grimly and mainly only scoring from set pieces.
I have no faith to keep – only analysis of the evidence before my eyes. There’s too much blind faith about.

I would also be disconnected by a sell out such as you suggest, but as I say above, there is another way to progress and we should be following it.
.
And 6 or 7 points from AV, Reading, Soton ? Great if it turns out that way, but I think we’re in grave danger of that being 2 or even just 1.

Thanks for your summary of the discussion. Norwich and clubs like them are in a difficult situation and ultimately it maybe that the supporters are the ones who lose out.

OK, let’s address the football on offer for a moment rather than my own rather complex philosophical objections to the direction football is travelling in.

I don’t think it is a matter of formation, but of attitude. Playing with one striker is OK if other players link up and add numbers when you are going forward. This is not happening as the players are scared to commit themeselves forward, given that Hughton has drummed into them that a point will do. This has caused a sterility about our play that is both terrible to watch and potentially disatrous in terms of getting us relegated.

We have 12 games to go and in the previous 12 games only QPR and Wigan have taken fewer points than us. If we continue like this, we will be cutting it very fine indeed and our defensive strategy is going to be exposed. I would like to see the team play with a bit more self belief and with less fear of losing. Settling for a point a game is probably not going to be good enough as we are playing 4 teams battling relegation and four teams chasing the Premiership or Champions League qualification.

I really hope I’m wrong and that the club has the cigars out with 3 or 4 games to play, but I think the Villa game on May 4th will probably have a bit of added significance to it!

Adrian – I’m not sure that Jennifer Lopez doing an on-pitch, half-time striptease would lighten your mood! If a 10 match unbeaten run with wins over Arsenal and Man Utd. failed to excite, then heaven help us all.
Everton are admirable but I clearly remember listening to radio phone-ins about 10 or so games into last season when they were struggling, and their fans were calling for Moyes to go and the board to be sacked! About 2 months later, those doom-mongers had disappeared back into the woodwork. These things go in cycles and a couple of wins usually douse the flames of discontent.
Your blueprint for the future sounds perfectly sensible but it brings to mind Arsenal – they tick all your boxes (albeit with a stack of unspent cash and a 60k stadium), and yet your average Arsenal fan is permanently disgruntled that they are stuck in limbo and CL qualification is no longer a good enough goal.
Let us never forget the date 08-08-2009 when we hit rock bottom against Colchester. We’ve come a long way in a short time. Let’s not throw our toys out of the pram at the first sign of difficulty. What else are you going to do with your Saturday afternoons?

Russell – not JL but maybe Beyonce ! All fans will get pissed off now and then, often without good reason, impatience getting the better of them. Everton and Arsenal have the monkey on their back of remembered Champion status. In Arsenal’s case they seem to think they have a divine right to be top dog.

We are not like that and dissatisfaction has a real foundation here as well described above by Andy. It’s not just that the fare on offer is dire, it is the real and present danger of going down as a result.

Andy – we do indeed need more support to the single striker, but it works for the clubs who generally have much better players in a more flexible and mobile midfield. We’ve had two so called holding players, who are not the best decision makers or passers, mostly sitting deep, and two wide men, one of whom is excellent and the other a flashy luxury. That leaves poor Wes to be the only central creative midfielder as well as being expected to play an auxiliary striker role. This needs to change.

Drop one of the holding two, drop Pilks, bring in Howson or Surman (I know, had a stinker against Luton – but what do we expect if there is no squad rotation) and play a second striker.

Russell – what about my Saturday afternoons? Every married man has a list of tasks! Probably tackle those in the company of Radio Narfolk. May watch Dereham Town. May go out with herself. May watch odd game in the pub. May sit on this site and bore you all to tears!

Three points against Everton will certainly lighten the mood-for everyone, not least the players who are probably as frustrated as we are, albeit for differing, professional reasons.

No reason at all to think we can’t get it, none whatsoever.

But a positive attitude in the week leading up to the game is essential.

Kamara-a positive, likeable character- signing is a canny move in more ways than one. For last season and much of this one, the squad has repeatedly mentioned the strong team spirit and camaraderie that has helped them so much-faith might not win football matches, but that sort of positive self confidence and belief born of the old PMA can make a hell of a difference. Kamara looks to have made an impact already, the squad seem to have got a bit of bounce back and are responsing to his (and Becchio’s) arrival in the right way.

All of the 92/93 squad who I talked to for a book said it made average players play like good ones and good players perform like great ones. We saw the results of that-a squad that, with maybe one major out and two coming in could have won the Premier League in 1993-a year after they had lost 9 of their last 12 games in the league and looked, at one point, like going down.

Makes me wonder if this season is another dress rehearsal for another great one next time around!

But lets get three points against the Blues first, we’ll all feel a lot better then!

Ed – any chance you could arrange the Beyonce half-time ‘performance’ for the Everton game and save Adrian from his rawlplugs?
There’s as much chance of us being relegated as the pope resigning or a meteor strike in Russia…oh

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